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ABU DHABI, 27th January, 2023 (WAM) — Water is at the heart of the Middle East’s story, nowhere more evident than in the region’s historic irrigation and agricultural systems that gave birth to a great civilization.
In an editorial on Friday, The National said: “It should come as no surprise that the peoples of the Middle East have a long tradition of trying to control it, whether it’s ancient irrigation methods or modern cloud seeding.”
Dams remain critical to the prosperity and security of the region through 2023.
Earlier this week, The National took a tour of one of the most exciting dam projects underway in the Middle East, a hydropower plant under construction to turn water from the Hatta Dam in the Hajar Mountains outside Dubai into electrical energy.
The station is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2024, with 1,400 people working on site when The National visited. It will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts and will be able to power up to 250,000 homes per year. Crucially, it will have 1,500 megawatt-hours of storage capacity. Its ability to store energy makes it the first of its kind in the GCC.
“The project is not only notable for its capacity and complex engineering design. Its environmental benefits will be significant. Hydroelectric power is one of the most sustainable forms of electricity generation and is generally more reliable than wind and solar. It will cost two working in two modes, turbines and pumping. In the latter, the plant will use energy from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, thus forming a cycle of clean energy production. The dam will help The emirate has set a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” the paper added.
This will also benefit the local area. Khalifa Al Bedwawi, the plant’s project manager, told The National that “in addition to providing employment opportunities for Emirati citizens in Hatta, the project supports programs that address social, economic development and environmental needs.”
This comes as the UAE prepares to host Cop28, just a week after the country’s government declared 2023 the “Year of Sustainable Development”. While 2023 has a particular focus on the environment, the country has been pushing for more domestic sustainability for some time. In October last year, the third unit of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant was connected to the grid for power generation. The latest addition is capable of producing up to 1,400 megawatts of emission-free energy.
It continued, “All of these contribute to cementing the UAE’s reputation as a leading hub for environmental innovation.”
Earlier this month, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and South Korean President Yoon Hee-yeol visited the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant. Referring to the technical cooperation between the UAE and the Republic of Korea, President Yoon said: “The fact that the Barakah nuclear fleet has two units in operation and two more are about to become operational is a major milestone as it represents a special strategic partnership Between the UAE and the Republic of Korea.”
“In a few months, more international leaders will share their thoughts as urgent efforts are made to protect the planet. While there is still a long way to go for everyone, the UAE’s expanding possibilities A sustainable energy foundation can demonstrate what modern Arab states can achieve to protect the planet, and how water remains key to the region’s well-being,” the Abu Dhabi Foundation concluded.
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